Move over Trombone Shorty! Born in Louisiana, raised in Texas, now based in Brooklyn, Matthew Hartnett, he of the big fat greasy trombone sound, has self-released the kind of debut that not only celebrates his musical upbringing, but drags it into the new year all gussied up with funky asides, hip hiphop flourishes, soulful jams and jazz-rock fusion cliffs that get hard and heavy.

'Hillbilly Zen-Punk Blues' by a Brooklyn character named Reverend Freakchild is a throwback to those glorious hippie times when religion, music, politics and meditation were all rife with exploration. Acoustic, trippy, folky and weird, these 'Blues' stick out like a sore thumb.

For those of you in New York still fretting over your New Year’s Eve, fear no more: Party experts Gemini & Scorpio pull out all the stops for a gorgeous, immersive production of the classic fairy tale “The Snow Queen” in Brooklyn, complete with circus artists and dancing through the wee hours.
Dubbed "The Court of the Snow Queen," fierce snow queen Ali Luminescent will hold a menagerie of entertainers hostage for her pleasure. Gemini & Scorpio promise the event will “whirl with the creatures and spirits of winter, their talents a spectacle commanded by her whim.”
The theatrical party will feature classic and modern hits in live jazz and swing music style by the Retro Remix Orchestra, aerial and contortion performers, face and body painting, large-scale art, and a snowy photo booth. On the Gemini & Scorpio website, the description for the spectacle is as follows:
“The Queen has enchanted and stolen a mortal boy, Kai. But his beloved, Gerda, has summoned all the power of fire to win him back and defeat the Queen. Who will triumph in this battle for the human heart?”

Ever wonder what it is like to attend a secret play? "The Dreary Coast," an immersive theatrical work from Jeff Stark, will enlighten you right on the banks of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.
This retelling of the Persephone myth lets 20 or so theatergoers experience the performance in shallow, flat-bottomed boats up and down the Gowanus. Several dozen spectators watch the play from the shore. The play is legendary in certain Brooklyn underground arts circle, and Stark, who has lived two blocks from the canal for the past 15 years, has been dreaming of staging a performance on its waters for nearly as long. For the past year, he has scouted the bridges and rock formations and vacant lots that dot its banks, surveying the most appealing, and legal, locations for scenes to unfold.
The $40,000 budget for the play was mostly raised on Kickstarter, with dozens of collaborators, including the well-known local “experience architect” N.D. Austin.
But this play begins differently than others. The evening begins in a neighborhood bar, where audience members are asked to sign an indemnity waiver. Priestesses clad in kimonos and eye makeup arrive, wafting incense and ringing bells, leading you to a disused space and where there is a silent ritual. Once the action shifts to the waterway, the Olympian pantheon takes over.
Charon (E. James Ford) and ice queen Persephone (Ava Eisenson) plot an escape from the abyss.

In Kim Gordon's earlier release, "Is It My Body?," published by Sternberg Press, she said a memoir was in the works. Thankfully, Harper Collins and Gordon have announced a release date for the forthcoming Girl in a Band: February 24, 2015.

Brooklyn rock club Death by Audio announced today that they will be shutting down shop this fall. According to a note posted on their website owners Edan Wilber and Matt Conboy will close their doors on November 22.

Permanent Records announced on their website last night about moving on down to South Slope following the loss of their Franklin Street lease. The new hut, they jokingly referred to as Permanent Records 2.0, will be located at 159 20th Street in South Slope, the building where crowdworking space BrooklynWorks at 159 is housed.

Native New York David Dorfman Dance Company along with Turkish Kprhan Basaran Company will world premiere their collaboration at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) as part of DanceMotion USA on August 16, compete with a live stream.

Yesterday, Classicalite published my piece on the importance of staying relevant in our ever-changing world. As such thinking is wont to do, it met with a bit of criticism. Occasionally, yes, music and culture that begins outside the mainstream wedges a foot in the popular door--only to rip the damn thing off its hinges.